BENGALURU: A 24 carat gold biscuit weighing 100 grams bought in Bengaluru costs over Rs 28,000, more than what it comes for in Dubai. Do the math for 1 kg gold and the difference in profit is more than Rs 2.81 lakh. This figure can appreciate based on escalating gold prices in the country. This enticing difference in price is the rationale behind the thriving gold smuggling racket in India, of which Bengaluru has become the hotspot after enforcement agencies tightened the noose at Kochi and Chennai airports in the recent years.
From April to January of 2016 (figures calculated for financial year), Bengaluru Customs unearthed a whopping 28.97 kg of gold worth over Rs 8 crore smuggled into Kempegowda International Airport ( K I A ) by smugglers often called 'mules' or carriers' or 'couriers'.Seizures made by city sleuths of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI), primarily gold smuggled in through air cargo, add an extra 20% to the overall gold seizures in Bengaluru.

While mules play a key role in smuggling gold into the Garden City by air, their operators ­ the Bengaluru gold racketeers with strong ties to their Kerala counterparts ­ have expertly innovated their modus operandi in bringing gold from the Gulf countries, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka and other places where gold prices are lower. Mules have several ways of escaping the preying eyes of the customs and DRI sleuths at KIA ­ and over the past three years there has been one prevalent method of smuggling ­ rectum concealment.

EXPERIENCE COUNTS

“A smuggler bringing gold pieces concealed in his rectum is often an expert. That's because not anyone can move with ease when gold pieces are in the rear. We often spot the discomfort of some during passenger profiling and nab them. Gold concealed in their body is detected by door frame metal detectors or if needed body scans,“ said a DRI officer attached to the Bengaluru unit in Hennur.

Sajilal from Kasaragod, Kerala has been a gold mule for over a decade now and is among the few who carry the metal in the rectum. The 43-year-old claims he operates via Bengaluru and Mumbai ports these days. “We practice to carry the gold and walk and sit normally to avoid customs officials. Food or water is strict no during assignments. There are a few exercises we do that make work easier and help us carry more gold. The maximum one can carry in the rear is up to 800 grams broken into pieces,“ said Sajilal who gets up to Rs 50,000 per kg of gold smuggled.

EXPERT DUBAI FABRICATORS

According to sources in the Bengaluru smuggling ring, few expert craftsmen in Dubai specialize in recreating elec tronic parts in pure gold. “The soleplate, thermostat or the heating tube of an iron, magnetron tube or surface plate of a microwave oven and piston shoes and valve plates of small motor pumps all removed and recreated in solid gold. The component created in gold is then painted in its original colour and fitted to respective electronic devices,“ said Abdul Sukkur who claimed to belong from St. Thomas Town.

DRI officials also shed light on Sukkur's claims that a set of craftsmen in the Gulf city are used by Kerala-based gold smuggling rings to redesign electronic parts and conceal them in devices before smuggling them into Bengaluru through mules or air cargo.“On January 30, 2016 we nabbed a passenger, Abdul from Madikeri, who arrived from Sharjah on a Saudi Airlines flight with an oven which had a base recreated with 1.01 kg of gold plates worth Rs 27 lakh. Apart from recreating, smugglers also hide gold bars in machine parts, toys, hard disks and even gaming consoles,“ said an officer with the Air Intelligence Unit (AIU) of Bengaluru Customs at KIA.

Mules carrying gold bars remove bathroom fittings or passenger seat covers on inter national flights to conceal the precious metal before disembarking in Bengalu ru. “Some KIA staff, often people involved in cleaning aircraft, roped in by the racketeers for a fee per assignment are informed where exactly the gold is hidden. They then bring it out via the do mestic terminal exit where frisking is relatively slim and hand it over to gang members waiting outside,“ said a customs official citing three such cases last year. A few airport staff were caught red-handed trying to smuggle out the gold bars in 2016.

(Some names have been changed on request)

GOLD ROUTE TO GARDEN CITY

Gold bars of 24, 22, 21 and 18 carat are favourites with the smuggling rings and are brought into Bengaluru primarily from Dubai apart from other Gulf centres, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka. The huge gap in gold price after Indian customs duty coaxes smugglers to bring in gold and the profits they get from the trade is in crores of rupees. Gold smuggled through mules or air cargo is bought by gold dealers who evade duties and the purchase is also the main source of converting their black money.

Nearly 80% of the racketeers are based in Kerala and have strong links with the Gulf operators.Bengaluru is the latest landing point for gold.Smugglers say the vast airport with slim enforcement personnel present helps. The lucrative trade has given rise to a few Bengaluru-based gangs, one of them is believed to have smuggled in over 100 kg of gold in 2016, according to DRI.

THE FACELESS CARRIERS

Mules or carriers are often temporary recruits deployed by gold smuggling rings which are mostly unaware of them except for some contact numbers. Mules, both men and women, get paid Rs 30,000 to Rs 50,000 per kg of gold smuggled apart from air tickets and paid overseas stay.Some are seasoned mules while others do it for quick money. Mules primarily land with the goods at KIA or Mumbai airport. Kochi passages have been tightened after the brutal murders of Kerala mules Nafir and Fahim by gold racketeers in a flat in Attavara, Mangaluru, in July 2014. The two had fled without handing over the gold and attempted to sell gold bars weighing 3 kg which Nafir had brought in via KIA in November 2013.

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